SPECIAL EVENT — Wells Academy students are gearing up for their annual living wax museum at 10 a.m. Friday in the school gym. Bri’Elle Mitchell posed as abolitionist Harriet Tubman during last year’s event. -- Contributed

STEUBENVILLE — Wells Academy third-grade students are highlighting Black History Month by bringing famous figures to life with a living wax museum.

Teachers Alyssa Meyer and Jillian Saltsman are heading the program, which will be held at 10 a.m. Friday in the school gym. Their pupils are assigned Black leaders to research, then they will dress as their subjects and create posterboard exhibits for other classes to view. The costumed students can answer questions about the person they depict as part of their figurative wax museum and the goal is to learn about the indelible mark those people have played throughout time.

“The students will do research and make a trifold presentation while dressed as influential African-Americans,” Meyer said. “This event has been held for at least five years and this is my second year as a third-grade teacher.”

About 52 students will be involved in the activity and among the famous figures being remembered are Martin Luther King Jr., social reformer Frederick Douglass, astronaut Mae Jemison, inventor Garrett Morgan and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles. Meyer added that the event serves as a reminder of the many important achievements made by these influential people.

“The school students see the presentation and learn more about the culture and accomplishments, and they learn how segregation occurred in the country and how African-Americans have the same rights,” she concluded.